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Tenancy Deposits

A landlord taking a deposit must protect it in a government-approved scheme within 30 days and give you prescribed information about where it is. Those are not administrative niceties: failing to do either exposes the landlord to a compensation order of up to three times the deposit, payable to you, on top of returning the deposit itself. Most deposit disputes are actually evidence disputes, and they are won at check-in, not check-out. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Tenancy Deposits at a glance

30 days to protect

The deposit must be placed in an approved tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receipt

Prescribed information too

The landlord must also give you specified details about the deposit and the scheme

Up to three times

A court can order the landlord to repay the deposit and pay compensation of up to three times its value

Free adjudication

Each scheme offers a free dispute service that decides deductions on the documents

Fair wear is not damage

Deductions cannot cover normal deterioration from ordinary use over the length of the tenancy

Protection, and what happens when it is missed

There are approved schemes offering custodial protection, where the scheme holds the money, and insured protection, where the landlord holds it and insures it. Either way the deposit must be protected within 30 days and the prescribed information given. Where a landlord fails, a tenant can apply to the county court for an order that the deposit be repaid or protected and for compensation between one and three times the deposit. That claim survives the end of the tenancy, so it is available to former tenants too, and it is one of the more effective remedies in housing law because the breach is documentary and hard to argue away. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

What can and cannot be deducted

Legitimate deductions cover unpaid rent, damage beyond fair wear and tear, cleaning to return the property to its check-in condition, and missing items. What cannot be deducted: normal wear from ordinary living, pre-existing defects, betterment — a landlord cannot charge you for a brand new carpet to replace a seven-year-old one — or general redecoration at the end of a long tenancy. Adjudicators apply a proportionate approach, taking into account the age and expected life of the item and the length of your occupation, and they expect the landlord to evidence the loss rather than assert it. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The dispute service, and how to win there

Every scheme offers free alternative dispute resolution: an independent adjudicator reads both sides' evidence and decides, and the decision is binding if both accept it. It is decided on documents, so it is won or lost on the check-in inventory, the check-out report, dated photographs and the correspondence. A signed, photographed inventory at the start is the single most valuable thing a tenant can have, and its absence is the most common reason claims fail. Raise disputes promptly, itemise exactly what you dispute and why, and provide the images rather than describing them. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Protecting your deposit, step by step

At check-in, photograph everything and sign the inventoryDated images beat recollection every time, and this is where disputes are decided.

Check the deposit was actually protectedSearch the schemes. If it was not protected within 30 days, that is a claim worth up to three times the deposit.

Dispute deductions through the free scheme serviceItemised, evidenced, prompt. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Tenancy Deposits — your questions answered

My landlord never protected my deposit. What can I do?

Apply to the county court. If the deposit was not protected within 30 days, or the prescribed information was not given, the court can order the deposit repaid or protected and award you compensation of between one and three times its value. The claim is available even after the tenancy has ended, and because the breach is a matter of record rather than opinion it is comparatively straightforward to prove. Check the schemes' online registers first so you can show it was never there.

Can my landlord charge me for cleaning?

Only to return the property to the condition recorded at check-in, allowing for fair wear and tear — not to a standard better than you received it. A blanket professional cleaning charge applied regardless of how you left the property is routinely reduced or refused by adjudicators. The check-in inventory and check-out report decide it, which is why the photographs you took on day one matter more than anything you say at the end.

How long does a landlord have to return the deposit?

Once you agree the amount to be returned, the scheme rules require prompt repayment, generally within about ten days of the agreement. If you cannot agree, the disputed part goes to the scheme's free adjudication and the undisputed part should still be released to you. A landlord who simply stops responding is not entitled to keep the money by default — raise a dispute with the scheme directly.